Scientist kicked and stamped on by thugs in horrific attack caught on CCTV

Alan Croydon, 25, has been jailed for 12 months while accomplice Aaron Buckley has gone on the run

This sickening video shows a top scientist being savagely beaten in the street by two drunken thugs after he dared to make friendly conversation with them at the end of a night out.

CCTV cameras captured the moment Dr Dominic Henry, 32, paid a terrible price for chatting to strangers Alan Croydon and Arron Buckley as he waited to get a taxi home following a Christmas party in Manchester city centre.

For no reason whatsoever, Dr Henry was punched to the ground and then kicked and stamped on up to 15 times "with deadly intent".

The senior metallurgist was left with a badly-bruised and swollen face and "dips" in his scalp.

He managed to get home and when his wife, an NHS manager, saw his beaten face she began crying to which he also broke down before he was admitted to hospital for a brain scan.

He later feared he would lose job after having to hold key meetings with global leading aerospace companies whilst nursing a black eye.

Fears: Scientist Dr Dominic Henry who has relived the ''incomprehensible'' moment he was savagely beaten up

Dr Henry now believes the streets of his home city will always "pose a danger beyond many expectations."

In a statement Dr Henry - who works with Manchester Metropolitan University - said: "Not being a small guy I naively felt I would be okay. I was talking to them for a few minutes before they started punching.

"The fear began to build in me as one punched me from the side. It felt surreal. Scary. I lay there while they kicked and stamped on my head. I couldn't believe it. The attack was brutal, violent, beyond the scope of my imagination.

"I could not comprehend how another human being could be so vicious and with such deadly intent without any just cause.

"As the kicks and stamps reigned down, thud thud thud, I wondered how long it would last.

"I could feel the pain on my hands, arms and head. I was scared. They really wanted to hurt and damage me. It was terrifying.

"Never did I think this would be part of our lives, having to go through tests including a CT scan felt intimidating. I was an innocent, hardworking man that didn't deserve what I got. "

He added that he had felt "embarrassed" about his injuries.

He added: "I just want to feel confident again but worry that the streets of Manchester will always pose a danger beyond many expectations."

Wanted: Aaron Buckley admitted the offence but failed to turn up for sentencing